The Evil That Men Do
by Jossfan
Summary: COMPLETED! In the sequel to "There's No Place Like Home", a serial rapist prowls the streets of Trinity and it's up to Lucas Buck to stop him. Meanwhile, Caleb struggles to come to terms with his birthright and the fact that he was conceived through rape.
1. Chapter 1

This story takes place after the series finale episode "Requiem" and is a sequel to my story "There's No Place Like Home", which introduced the character of Lucas Buck's younger cousin, Veronica Lyn (Ronilyn) Huntley.

Thanks to my beta readers Renee' and Queribus.

**Disclaimer:** _American Gothic characters and canon belong to Shaun Cassidy and Sam Raimi; plot and any original characters belong to me. No copyright infringement intended._

"The evil that men do lives after them."  
– Mark Antony from William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"

* * *

Caleb Temple tossed and turned in his bed, clawing at the sheets as he fought the unwelcome images that invaded his sleep. Again, he saw his mother, young and blond, holding a small Merlyn on her lap. Then, the knock at the door.

"No. Don't answer it," Caleb muttered in his sleep.

The nightmare continued with Merlyn opening the door to a younger Lucas Buck and uttering the only words she would ever say from that moment on:

"Someone's at the door."

Caleb's breathing quickened as he watched Lucas circle his mother and grab at her hand.

"Please..." Judith Temple said, then slapped the sheriff as he reached for her again.

Lucas fell upon her, tearing at her dress as Merlyn trembled in the corner of the room, clutching her doll tightly.

"No! No!" Judith cried, vainly fighting off Lucas.

"Nooooo!" Caleb echoed his mother, sitting straight up in bed, eyes wide open. His heart pounding, his hands sticky with sweat, Caleb glanced around the silent, dark bedroom.

"Why are you doin' this to me, Merly?" he demanded of his sister, knowing her spirit now dwelled within him and blaming her. "I didn't want to see it the first time you showed me."

Rapid footsteps echoed through the boardinghouse and the door to Caleb's bedroom burst open.

"Caleb, what's wrong?" Loris Holt asked her young charge. "Are you havin' nightmares again?"

* * *

The sun rose on Trinity, announcing the arrival of a new day to all its residents. The powerful rays even penetrated the woods that ran along the outer rim of the town, causing Veronica Lyn Huntley to reach for her sunglasses.

Not a morning person, Ronilyn had watched only a few sunrises in her thirty years and she certainly hadn't planned on seeing another one while strolling through the woods of Trinity after a restless night's sleep. She stood and listened.

"Nothing," she said, her voice sounding loud in the stillness, the same stillness that had her up and about before daybreak. Ronilyn had paced a deep groove into her bedroom rug before realizing what had disturbed her sleep. The silence. No chirping crickets. No cat rummaging through the garbage cans. No animal howling in the distance.

Ronilyn frowned. And where were the crickets now? And the birds? Squirrels? She was standing in the middle of a forest and not only could she hear a tree fall, she was reasonably certain she could hear a pin drop. The animals were in hiding. Something was wrong...

She started when she the bushes to her left rustled. The wind? But not a strand of her auburn hair stirred. Then Ronilyn heard it.

"Meow."

"A cat? In the middle of the woods?" she muttered to herself. Ronilyn broke off the sturdy branch of a nearby tree and, gripping her ever-present mace in the other hand, plunged into the shrubbery.

* * *

"Appreciate all your help in movin' my mother back home, Lucas," Horace Watts said as they stood outside the Java Express.

A yawning Ben Healy exited the coffee shop holding two containers of the hot beverage. He squinted at the bright sun as he walked around to the driver's side of the squad car.

"No problem, Horace." Lucas glanced up at the two-story storefront as a window opened. "She livin' with you now? I thought she was gonna live in that huntin' cabin of yours."

Horace shuffled his feet. "That's what I thought, too. Even fixed it up real nice for her, but I guess my father's death hit her kinda hard. She don't want to be alone."

"Horace!"

"Lucas!"

Horace looked up at the second floor window while Lucas glanced over at Ben, who had shouted through the open car window.

"Comin', Ma!" Horace yelled back and disappeared back inside the Java Express.

"What is it, Ben?" Lucas asked, as he sauntered over to the car and leaned inside.

"Call came in on the radio," Ben said. "We need to get over to the hospital right away."

"What's the matter? Floyd got a hangnail?"

"Maybe," Ben said with a shrug. "But I thought you might be interested in knowin' that Ronilyn just showed up in the ER with an unconscious, half-naked woman."

* * *

Ronilyn scrunched herself deeper into the vinyl hospital chair in the emergency waiting room, an old gardening magazine lying unopened on her lap. She licked her lips, trying to rid herself of the unpleasant taste of vending machine coffee. A candy bar would've been a better choice, she thought, crumpling up the tiny paper coffee cup and tossing it toward the garbage can. It missed.

"Hope you don't litter like that in the woods," Lucas said, picking up the paper cup and handing it to Ben behind him. "You know we got laws about things like that."

Ronilyn looked at him, her mouth set in a grim line.

"Didn't think you were back in town yet," Lucas continued, strolling across the room until he stood over her.

"Well, I guess you must be losing your touch then," she replied. "All my stuff was moved from Chicago last week. Everything's taken care of."

"Everything, huh?"

"That's right."

"No loose ends left up in Chicago?"

Ronilyn shook her head. "All tied up nice and neat."

"Shame." Lucas hitched up his pants and sat down on the table in front of her. "What were you doin' in the woods so early in the mornin', missy?"

She shrugged. "Taking a walk."

Lucas gave a short laugh. "You? Out and about at sunrise?" He shook his head. "I don't think so, Ronilyn. You've never been an early riser. What's really goin' on?"

"You know, your suspicious nature is one of your least appealing qualities," she said, frowning at him. "I couldn't sleep, okay? Wouldn't be the first time that's happened since I've been here. So I went walking in the woods." She raised her hands in a flippant gesture. "Big deal. Not everything has an ulterior motive."

"Uh huh." Lucas studied her.

"You didn't carry that woman all the way back from the woods, did you?" Ben asked.

Lucas and Ronilyn both looked incredulously at the deputy. "Uh, no, Ben," she answered. "I carried her out of the woods to my car and drove her here."

Lucas stood up and clapped Ben on the shoulder. "What'd you think, Benji? She hauled that woman over her shoulder and jogged on over to the hospital? I know you're mighty impressed with my cousin, but I think something like that's beyond even her."

His deputy reddened. "Lucas, I..."

"Speakin' of which," Lucas turned back to Ronilyn. "You shouldn't have moved her."

"She wasn't dead, Lucas." Ronilyn was now sitting on the edge of her chair. "What did you expect me to do, leave her there while I got help? What if something happened while I was gone? What if an animal got to her?"

"Now something tells me you would've seen to it that the animals would've left her alone." Lucas grinned broadly.

Ronilyn glared back at him. "I wasn't going to just leave her there all exposed!"

"He's got a point, though, Ronilyn," Ben chimed in. "If a crime was committed, movin' the victim disturbed the evidence."

She looked at Ben through narrowed eyes. "Nothing was disturbed," she stated.

"Well, now, I know you were probably careful and you meant well," Ben said, "but there could've been tracks or..."

"Nothing was disturbed," she repeated.

"Ronilyn, you..."

"Let it go, Ben," Lucas said, having watched the exchange. "If she said nothin' was disturbed, you can bet that there ain't a leaf out of place."

"Thank you." Ronilyn gave him a tight smile.

Ben protested. "But, Lucas..."

"Never mind, Ben. It's water under the bridge at this point. We'll look over that crime scene, if that's what it is, with a fine toothed comb, see what there is to see." Lucas noticed Dr. Billy Peale stride through the ER doors and glance in their direction. "You get all the particulars from Ronilyn," he told Ben. "I'll see what Billy boy's got to say."

* * *

"How you feel there, ma'am?" Lucas looked down at the woman lying in the hospital bed.

"Fine, Sheriff," Sharon Malloy replied. "Just a little dizzy. Mostly confused. I don't understand what you're doin' here. I don't understand what I'm doin' here. Did I have too much to drink?"

Lucas and Billy Peale exchanged glances. "I don't know, Miss Malloy," the sheriff replied. "Did you?"

The woman looked uncertainly at the two men. "Last thing I remember is bein' in Deke's. You know," she gestured aimlessly, "over by Highway 5. Oh, Lord," she said, covering her mouth with her hand. "I didn't drive drunk, did I? I didn't kill somebody, did I?"

"Not that we're aware of, ma'am," said Lucas. "Matter of fact, we're tryin' to locate your car right now."

Sharon looked up at him, tears spilling out of her eyes. "What's wrong with me? Why can't I remember?"

* * *

"Now exactly where was it that you found her?" Ben asked, his lucky pen poised over his notepad.

Ronilyn sighed and for the third time described the area of the woods where she had stumbled across the woman.

* * *

"How could she not remember anything?" Lucas asked as he and Billy left Sharon's bedside. "She doesn't even know how she got to the woods. Ben!" he called as they walked down the corridor towards his deputy and Ronilyn. "We find this Sharon Malloy's car yet?"

"Sure did, Lucas," Ben replied. "Floyd called while you were in with her. He found it sitting in Deke's parking lot."

"So either this woman was abducted from Deke's or she left with someone," Lucas mused.

"Someone who just dumped her in the woods? Nice guy," Ronilyn said.

"Well, Sharon Malloy was with someone last night," Billy said. "We found traces of semen in the vaginal area."

"She was raped?" Ben said.

"Not necessarily," the doctor replied. "There wasn't any tearing or bruising around the vaginal area or the thighs or anywhere else, for that matter. And as you saw, Sheriff," he glanced at Lucas," except for a faulty memory and a headache, she's in good health."

"So this is just a simple case of a couple gettin' drunk, decidin' to turn the woods into their own little Lovers' Lane and the fella just takes off afterward? Not very chivalrous," Lucas said, "but it ain't criminal either."

Billy put his hands in the pockets of his lab coat. "Well, it could very well be."

Lucas sighed and looked Billy squarely in the face. "You just want to spit it out, Doc? You don't want to be playin' games with me this early in the morning."

"You've heard of rape drugs?"

"They're put into someone's drink. Popular with the college crowd," Lucas answered. "Are you sayin' someone spiked this woman's drink at Deke's, took her to the woods and raped her and she doesn't remember any of it?"

Billy shrugged. "I can't say for sure in this case because these drugs are virtually undetectable after twelve hours, but they do cause short term memory loss and drowsiness similar to what Miss Malloy is experiencing. We're having blood work done on her right now, but if she was given the drug early last night, it's probably out of her system by now."

"Well, what _can_ you say, Doc?" Lucas wanted to know. "All I'm hearin' are theories and suppositions..."

"About a week ago," Billy interrupted, "a woman from Goat Town came into the ER, hysterical. She woke up naked in a strange bed and didn't know how she got there. Because she came right in, we were able to detect traces of ketamine in her blood."

"Ketamine?" Lucas repeated as Ben scribbled furiously in his notepad. "What the hell is ketamine?"

"It's a cat tranquilizer and probably one of the more easier of these type of drugs to get a hold of. Most veterinarians have it."

"Ben..."

"I'm on it, Lucas. Check out the vet and anyone workin' there who might have access to this ketamine," Ben said. "Maybe look into some of our farmers that got a lot of animals."

Lucas turned back to the doctor. "How come I didn't hear about this Goat Town woman?"

Billy shrugged. "She refused to file a police report. Patient confidentiality. What could I do?"

"Well, if Miss Malloy in there -" Lucas pointed in the direction of the emergency room "- don't want to file a report either, there's nothin' we can do. Let's go, Ben."

"Wait a minute," Ronilyn said, blocking his path. "Are you telling me you're not going to do anything about this? Since when do you let a minor technicality get in your way?"

"I don't. And I don't let little ladies get in my way either," Lucas said, as he took her by the shoulders and moved her aside. "Ben and I are goin' to the woods to see what we can find out, then we'll have a little chat with Deke." He grinned and shook his finger at her. "Who's makin' assumptions now, huh?"

* * *

Caleb sat up in bed the following morning, his pajama-clad body drenched in sweat. He got up and quietly turned on the faucet of the small sink in his room. This was gettin' ridiculous, he thought, splashing water onto his face several times. He looked up at himself in the mirror. A pale, wide-eyed face stared back at him. He needed to talk to somebody. He needed help.

Caleb quickly ate breakfast with new boarder Sam Richardson and, escaping Miss Holt's motherly concerns, left the boardinghouse with his book bag over his shoulder. Instead of walking to school, he snatched his bicycle from the back yard, flung himself on it and pedaled furiously toward Juniper House.

* * *

Ronilyn rode the elevator down to the first floor of Juniper House. Dr. Mitchell seemed to think her mother was doing better since Ronilyn moved back to Trinity and was able to visit her more frequently, but Ronilyn didn't care much for Dr. Mitchell. If Sarah Huntley had more of a spring in her step or a light in her eyes, Ronilyn hadn't seen it. Now if her mother had actually spoken, Ronilyn thought as the elevator doors opened, _that_ would've been a change. Instead, her mother remained as silent as ever, not uttering a word in almost thirty years.

"Look, ma'am, I really need to see Doc Crower," the young voice pleaded. "Can't you just let me see him for a couple of minutes?"

"I already told you he's not allowed any visitors," the woman behind the information desk stated. "You just keep comin' back here, don't you? I heard all about you, Caleb Temple. And what are you doin' here anyhow?" she demanded, reaching for the desk telephone. "Shouldn't you be in school?"

A hand slammed a visitor pass down on the desk dangerously close to the telephone. The startled woman jerked her hand away and fumbled vainly for the phone as it tumbled to the floor. She glanced up.

"Oops," Ronilyn said, smiling coldly. "Sorry. Clumsy me." She dropped a gentle hand onto Caleb's shoulder. "You're wasting your time, Caleb," she told the boy and looked down at him.

"They...are you alright? You look a little pale." Her hand moved to brush against his cheek. Frowning, the boy pulled away.

"I'm fine. I just need to talk to Dr. Matt."

"Hmm. Well, they're not going to let you see him." Not yet anyway, Ronilyn thought, realizing she was going to have to look into this Matt Crower situation. "Can you talk to me instead?"

Caleb stared at her. "Never mind."

"You like animals, Caleb?"

"Huh?"

"Animals. You know, like dogs and cats. Pets."

Caleb shrugged. "I guess. We ain't never had a pet. Daddy always said it was enough trouble takin' care of Merly and me without any dog to get in the way."

Ronilyn's eyes flashed angrily at the remark, but she only said, "Well, Caleb, I always had lots of pets growing up. When I lived in Chicago, I could only have little ones, like birds and hamsters, because I lived in an apartment." She laid a hand on the boy's shoulder again and steered him toward the door. "Now that I'm home, I can have dogs and cats and whatever else I want. I took in a couple of strays already. Why don't you come by after school and meet them?"

"I guess that'd be alright," Caleb said, the shadow of a frown still on his face.

"Good." Ronilyn smiled and patted his shoulder. "Now, how'd you get here?"

"Rode my bike."

"Bike, huh?" She pursed her lips. "Well, I think we can cram that into my trunk. Come on. I'll drive you to school."

* * *

Selena Coombs turned from the blackboard and faced her students. "Now, class," she said. "Who can tell me..."

The classroom door swung open and the children all turned around as Caleb and Ronilyn entered.

"Well, nice of you to join us, Caleb, honey," Selena said, gliding around her desk. "We were gettin' worried about you. I was about ready to call the sheriff."

"Wouldn't it be more appropriate to call his guardian?" suggested Ronilyn, leaning against the door frame.

Selena regarded the other woman. "He was with you, then?"

Ronilyn shrugged. "For the most part."

"You know, it's considered proper to inform the school if you intend to keep a child out of class."

Ronilyn raised an eyebrow. "I didn't realize you'd become an authority on what's proper."

The teacher walked towards the doorway, her conservative dress unable to conceal her shapely figure. "Why don't you take your seat, Caleb?" As the boy scrambled over to his desk, she said to the students, "I'd like everyone to take this time to read chapter 7 in your history book."

"I'll pick you up after school, Caleb," Ronilyn said, taking a step back into the corridor.

"Okay," he replied, arranging his books on his desk.

Selena shut the classroom door behind them and appraised the other woman. "I heard you were back in town. You here to stay?"

"That's right. Moved everything in last week."

"Hmm. Includin' Caleb Temple?"

Ronilyn looked at the teacher for a long moment. "No," she finally said. "But he's always welcome in my house."

"Well, I wouldn't let Lucas hear you say that, if I were you. You might as well just pack up your bags and head on back to, what was it, Chicago?"

Ronilyn sighed. "You know, I'm getting really tired of hearing about the all-powerful Lucas Buck. I'm not afraid of him."

Selena smiled and shook her head. "It's just amazin' how a big city gal like yourself can be so naive."

"You just wish you could remember what it was like to be naive. If Caleb wants to spend time with me, then he will," she declared.

"Uh huh," Selena said. "Well, I can see how a poor, orphaned child like Caleb would tug at your maternal heartstrings."

"Maternal heartstrings?" Ronilyn repeated with a laugh. "I don't think so. But the way I see it, he can certainly use a good female influence in his life." She eyed the teacher. "He sure as hell isn't getting one here."

Selena bristled with anger. "_I_ am not the one tryin' to corrupt him."

"Yeah, there's that, too," Ronilyn said, Selena's reference to Lucas perfectly clear to her. "Just one more reason for me to stick around." She started to leave, then stopped. "You know, I was really surprised to hear you'd become a teacher - and at an elementary school yet. I figured if you taught anything, it'd be sex education to high school boys. But that's right," she said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "I remember you already did that when you were in high school."

* * *

Caleb parted company with his friend Boone after school and stood outside near the curb waiting for Ronilyn.

"How you doin', son?"

Caleb glanced over to see Lucas leaning against a nearby tree. The boy sighed and turned back toward the street.

A frown quickly passed over Lucas' face and, pushing away from the tree, he strolled over to the boy.

"So how's school goin'? Miss Coombs loadin' you down with homework?"

Caleb repositioned his book bag on his shoulder and concentrated on looking for Ronilyn's car.

"What do you say we go fishin' this weekend?" Lucas suggested, watching his son closely. "We never did get a chance to do that. Dig up some worms, pack ourselves a lunch. I know this fishin' hole that's got..."

Caleb's head snapped around in his father's direction. "I ain't goin' anywhere with you!"

"So you _can_ talk," Lucas said. "I was startin' to wonder. Those aren't exactly the words I wanted to hear, but they'll do for a start."

A car horn blared. "Just leave me alone!" Scowling, Caleb ran across the street and climbed into Ronilyn's car. She smiled and waved at Lucas as she drove away.

"Looks to me like you've been replaced," a soft voice drawled.

Lucas whirled around to find Selena standing behind him, the smile on her face indicating she'd heard most of the one-way conversation with Caleb.

"You'd know all about bein' replaced, wouldn't you?" Lucas said. "Men are always replacin' you with a younger, classier female, once they're through with you. Kind of like a used car bein' handed off to another owner 'til it winds up in the junkyard." He turned and stalked off.

* * *

Nurse Kelly kicked off her shoes, put her feet up on the coffee table and sighed deeply. It was always a grueling day at Fulton Memorial Hospital when she returned from a day off, but today had seemed worse than usual.

"Mama? Is that you?" her nineteen-year-old daughter called from the kitchen.

"Yes, Sally Mae, it's me. Who else would it be?" Kelly frowned. "You aren't expectin' anyone, are you?"

"No."

"Good. Now I know I've told you before about bein' careful when you go out, but you be extra careful from now on, you hear?"

"I _am_ careful, Mama," Sally Mae said. "What are you talkin' about?"

"A girl was brought in yesterday. Apparently," Kelly could hear her daughter setting the kitchen table, "some pervert put something in her drink. Knocked her out cold and she was raped. Now the poor thing doesn't even remember what happened to her, which is actually probably a good thing." The nurse sniffed the air. "You got something cookin' on the stove, Sally Mae?"

A long moment passed before her daughter answered, "Uh, dinner, Mama."

"Smells like it's burnin', dear. Anyway, this here drug causes memory loss, so no one even knows what this fella looks like. The doctor says that it can be put into any kind of drink, even pop, and you can't even tell, so you watch yourself." She paused. "Sally Mae? You hear what I'm sayin'?"

The sound of a pot crashing to the floor sent Kelly leaping to her feet. She rushed into the kitchen. "Sally Mae, what on earth is the matter?"

A large pot of half-cooked pasta noodles lay splattered on the tiled floor. Her daughter stared at the mess, both hands clapped over her mouth, crying, "Oh, Mama!"

Kelly grabbed an oven mitt and picked up the pot. "What happened? Did it slip?" She placed the pot on an unlit oven burner and turned to her daughter. "There's no need to get hysterical now. Nothing's broken. We'll just clean it up. You get the mop and..."

"No, Mama, it's not that," Sally Mae sobbed, as she remembered waking up recently in the back seat of the car, her hair messed and her clothes disheveled. She grasped her mother's hands. "Mama, I think I have something to tell you. And the sheriff."

* * *

Click. Click. Click.

Ronilyn flipped through TV channels with the remote when a large black cat jumped on top of the TV set, hissing.

"What is it, Midnight?" she asked the animal she'd recently found and named for the pure blackness of its fur. "You don't want to watch Home Shopping? You want to watch the Andy Griffith Show instead? What?"

The cat continued hissing, its fur standing on edge.

Frowning, Ronilyn switched off the TV and listened. The birds upstairs in her bedroom chattered and banged their toys against the sides of the cage. Outside, a dog barked nearby.

She got up and peered out the front window.

"Whatcha lookin' at?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** _American Gothic characters and canon belong to Shaun Cassidy and Sam Raimi; plot and any original characters belong to me. No copyright infringement intended._

"The evil that men do lives after them."  
– Mark Antony from William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"

* * *

Ronilyn swore as she spun around to see Lucas stroll out of the kitchen, munching on an apple.

"What the hell are..."

"Now that's a fine bit of language to be usin'," Lucas said, uncurling a finger from around the apple enough to shake it disapprovingly at her. "You talk like that around my boy?"

"Ah," she said with a nod, as the cat's hissing grew louder. "So that's the reason for this visit. I didn't think you came by to raid my refrigerator."

"But there's such tasty morsels in this house." He held out the piece of fruit. "Want some?"

"After you bit into it? I don't think so."

Lucas shrugged. "Suit yourself. I'm only lookin' out for your health. You know what they say, 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away'."

"If it kept the sheriff away, I'd eat the apple, core and all. Maybe even a worm too." Ronilyn folded her arms against her chest. "I know exactly how concerned you are about my health, so get to it. What do you want?"

"A great many things," he replied as Midnight leapt from the top of the TV to the arm of the sofa, closing the distance between them. "I suggest you call off your dogs, or cat, as the case may be," Lucas said, watching as the animal bared its teeth, its fur bristling.

"Why? Because she'd like to scratch your eyes out?" Ronilyn reached out and stroked the cat's head. "Come now. You should be used to females in Trinity having those feelings towards you."

"Speakin' of eyes," Lucas said, staring at the large cat. "I read about this lab experiment where these scientists take cats and implant..."

Ronilyn rushed him, slamming him against the living room wall with enough impact to knock the apple out of his hand.

"Touch that cat," Ronilyn stated, her green eyes glinting, "or any of my pets, and I'll implant that apple someplace where not even a team of scientists will be able to get it. You understand me?" she asked, shoving him against the wall for emphasis.

"Nicely phrased threat," Lucas praised her as he wrenched her hands free of his vest. "Very creative."

Ronilyn winced at the iron grip he had on her hands.

"Your only mistake was in lettin' that animal lovin' side of yourself show through. See, you revealed your weakness." He paused. "And now it can be exploited."

"Exploit at your own risk," she snapped. "You think I don't mean it?"

Lucas recognized the wild look in her eyes as one he had seen many years ago. She'd been younger than Caleb then, about eight or nine, and had gone into the woods as she did every hunting season in an attempt to save the animals. When it'd neared sunset one day and she hadn't returned home yet, Lucas and her father Nathan had gone in search of her...

"Noooo!"

Lucas recognized the scream of rage and ran its direction.

"Ronilyn..." His voice trailed off as he skidded to a halt behind a tree and saw her kneeling over a dead fawn, her hands red with blood.

"Hey!" a man shouted from several yards away. "Get away from that, girl! That's my kill!"

Lucas started to step into view when Ronilyn lifted her head and glared at the hunter through her tears. Suddenly, the man's rifle discharged and he crumpled to the ground, motionless. Lucas' eyes darted back to the little girl, who was now cradling the head of the baby deer in her lap...

The man's death had been considered a hunting accident due to the rifle misfiring. Now, knowing that Ronilyn was really his sister and shared his bloodline, Lucas wondered what he'd actually witnessed and just how deliberate her action had been.

Lucas loosened his hold on Ronilyn's hands. "No," he said, raising her hands up to his mouth and gently brushing his lips against them. "I know you mean what you say."

Ronilyn stared at him. For a moment he looked as he did after her father's death, comforting, caring. She blinked and yanked her hands away from him. "Alright, you're getting all weird on me and I don't like it," she told Lucas. "Caleb came over here today to play with the animals." From the back yard, a dog barked as if in confirmation. "And he liked it so much, he's going to come back in the evenings, provided he doesn't have a lot of homework to do. Do you know he never even had a pet growing up?!"

Lucas barely suppressed a smile at her outraged statement. "Well, that's a real tragedy, Ronilyn," he declared, knowing she actually thought it was. "But..."

"So don't even think about depriving him of it now," she said. "It was good for him. I think for awhile he might've even forgotten what was bothering him."

Lucas started. "What's botherin' him?" he repeated, recalling his son's sullen behavior that afternoon. "Did he tell you what's botherin' him?"

"No, but he's upset about something. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out." Ronilyn, hearing a cat scratch on the screen outside, walked over to the front door to let it in. "You're his father. Don't you know?"

* * *

Selena laid her teacher's planner and other school papers down on the kitchen table after school the following day and walked into her bedroom. She turned the television on, sat down on the bed and slipped off her pumps. As she rubbed her aching feet, Selena reflected that fashion decisions must be made by men who hate women. While her figure allowed her to fit easily into any of the stylish clothes, there was absolutely no way she could get used to walking around all day with her feet crammed into awkward and unnatural positions. In Selena's opinion, the only good side to high heels was that they could be jammed into someone's eye. And glancing up at the television screen, Selena found herself staring at an ideal candidate.

"Speakin' of men who hate women," Selena muttered as she turned up the volume.

"...to three incidents," Lucas Buck's voice said. "Now it's difficult to confirm this because these drugs affect the memory, which is why this fella has been gettin' away with it - 'til now. I'm personally goin' to see to it that this person is captured and justice is served."

"In the meantime," Lucas continued over the buzz of the media. "Caution is the key word here. Watch who's handlin' your drinks. And not just alcohol. This drug can be used in coffee, soda, punch, anything. If anyone knows anything or thinks they've been a victim, contact..."

Selena switched off the television. She turned and looked thoughtfully at her bed. There was that one evening not too long ago when, after a night drinking at Deke's and a few other bars along the way, she woke up at home, not remembering how she got there.

That wasn't too uncommon, she thought, folding her arms against her chest. However, she'd found her underwear and all her clothes strewn about the room and the other side of the bed rumpled, as if it had been occupied at some point during the night. That also wasn't very unusual. That she couldn't recall _who_ had occupied it was what she found most unsettling.

After another long moment of staring at the bed, Selena walked abruptly into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

* * *

"Lucas?"

"Yeah, Ben," the sheriff answered, standing behind the counter watching the news media clear out of the station.

"I've been thinkin'," Ben started.

"Always a dangerous thing."

"Do you suppose Waylon Flood is behind all this?"

Lucas faced his deputy. "Now what makes you say that? Is he causin' trouble with your ex again?"

"No, no. He ain't laid a hand on her or my son."

"Glad to hear it." Lucas turned his attention back to the departing reporters.

"Well, it seems to me that the man that's doin' this doesn't like women. What he likes, is hurtin' 'em, and..."

"And since Waylon hurt his wife, you figure he could be rapin' these other women," Lucas finished for him. He shook his head and held up his hand to stop Ben from speaking. "Waylon Flood is a bully, I'll grant you, but" - he paused - "he just ain't smart enough to pull it off."

"Lucas..."

"No, now look, Ben, it's one thing to terrorize a woman in your own home. It's a whole different story to get a hold of these drugs, go out and find a woman, slip 'em to her in a drink, take her somewhere and rape her and go back home without anyone seein' you. There's too much risk involved in that, Ben. And Waylon Flood is too much of a coward to take that kind of risk."

Ben threw up his hands. "Well, then, where are we, Lucas?" he asked. "I'll tell you. Nowhere. We didn't find anything in the woods where Ronilyn found that girl. And even though we've got

that semen sample, we don't have anybody to match it against. Nothing's shown up on the computer yet." Ben ticked off the points on his fingers. "Nobody at Deke's saw anything suspicious that night. We checked out the known sex offenders in the area and they can all account for their whereabouts on the two nights we know about. Same thing goes for the veterinarian and his staff. So what's left?"

Lucas clapped him on the shoulder. "Givin' up so easy, Benny boy? That ain't like you. I'll tell you what's left to do." He pointed toward the door. "Find out who's new in town. Any strangers passin' through. Anyone visitin' from out of town. These rapes just started up and unless one of our fine citizens suddenly snapped, I'm bettin' there's a new face in town."

Ben snatched up his hat from the desk. "Alright, Lucas," he said, jamming it onto his head and heading toward the door. "I'll check out the hotels and boardinghouse first."

"Good idea," Lucas said, staring out the window overlooking the street. Suddenly, he stepped around the counter, strode over to the door, and yanked it open.

"Hey!" he shouted at the person who he'd seen hurrying past the station moments ago. "Hold up there!"

Ronilyn turned around. "What is it, Lucas?" she asked, waiting for him to catch up to her.

"See the press conference?"

She nodded. "Couldn't help it. The mayor had it on in his office. He's not real happy with this."

"Oh, ye of little faith. Tell him to give me a call if he's got a problem with how I'm handlin' it," Lucas said.

"Oh, yeah, _that'll_ really calm him down," Ronilyn said with a laugh and rolled her eyes skyward. "I don't know if you're aware of this, Lucas," she said, placing a hand on his arm. "But sometimes your reassurances can appear downright threatening."

Lucas grinned. "Nice of you to say so, darlin'," he replied. "Now you go back and tell your boss that the situation is well in hand."

"Yeah, but in whose hand?" She scrutinized him, then nodded as if in confirmation. "You don't have any suspects, do you?"

Lucas' smile disappeared.

"I thought not," Ronilyn said. "Serial rapists aren't good for elected officials, you know." She started to walk away. "And as the duly elected sheriff, I'd keep that in mind if I were you."

"Well, you're not me." Lucas grabbed her arm and jerked her towards him. "And since we're offerin' up advice here, _you_ keep in mind that warnin' I gave at that press conference. Watch yourself."

"I always do."

"No, I mean really watch yourself," he said. "Don't think you're invincible just 'cause you're my sister. You don't know enough yet. If this guy targets you, you won't know it until it's too late. All the self-defense classes in the world won't help you then."

Ronilyn's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?" she asked when her mouth started working properly. She stared at him. "You are, aren't you? Oh, my God, you're actually concerned about me!"

"I'm concerned about the safety of _all_ the women in Trinity. Even the stubborn ones," Lucas added with a pointed look at her. "I ain't gonna allow this fella or anyone else to come into _my_ town and do whatever they please." He turned his full gaze on her again. "Something else for you to keep in mind."

* * *

"What do you think, Caleb?" Boone asked, watching the other boy take a cautious sip of iced coffee in the Java Express.

Caleb swallowed, licked his lips and shrugged. "Tastes alright, I guess," he said, handing the cup back to Boone as they walked to the door. "Don't see what the big deal is, though."

"It's an acquired taste, boys," Horace said, smiling at them from behind the counter. "You'll probably like it more when you're older."

"Maybe." Caleb smiled back. "But I'd rather have a cherry cola or a root beer myself." He opened the door.

"Horace!" a shrill voice called from the back of the store. "Horace!"

The man sighed. "Comin', Ma."

"Hey, watch it, Caleb!" Boone warned as his friend stepped out onto the sidewalk and right into a man.

Caleb bounced against the man's vest, stumbled backward a few steps and looked up, past the sheriff's star, into his father's face.

"Well, hey there, son," Lucas said with a grin. "Where are you two off to in such a hurry?"

"Nowhere in particular," Boone replied.

"Anywhere you're not," Caleb muttered.

Lucas shot his son a glance, then noticed the coffee container. "Don't tell me the two of you have taken up coffee? Next thing I know you'll be buyin' cars and goin' out with girls." He laughed.

Caleb simply looked at him. "Are you done? Can we go now?"

Lucas frowned. "Well, Boone here is free to go, but you and I need to have a little talk."

"It's near suppertime," Boone said, looking back and forth between the other two. "Caleb, I'm gonna head home now."

"See you tomorrow, Boone," Caleb called after the other boy as he ran off.

"Alright, what's on your mind?" Lucas asked, watching Caleb's face closely.

The boy scowled at him. "You want to know what's on my mind? I'm thinkin' that you ain't gonna find the man that's hurtin' these women 'cause you're just like him! Maybe you're even the one doin' it!"

Lucas' eyes widened. "What..."

"I know what you done to my mama," Caleb said, his eyes burning with anger. "I seen it!"

"What are you talkin' about? Just what is it you think I've done? And how could you have seen anything? Your mama killed herself after you were born."

Caleb recoiled as if he'd been struck. "I know what I saw is true," he stated, believing in his heart that Merly would never lie to him. "You hurt my mama and I don't ever want to see you again!"

Lucas regarded the boy. "Well, I'm afraid you don't have much choice in the matter, son..."

"I told you never to call me that!"

Lucas shrugged. "Can't change the way things are. It's your birthright, Caleb."

"To be like you?" Caleb shook his head vigorously and backed away. "I'd rather be dead." He turned and fled.

"Can I get something for you, Sheriff?" Horace asked, leaning out the door of the Java Express.

"Yeah," Lucas said, watching his son run away from him. "How about a cup of respect to go?" He turned toward Horace. "And a couple of lumps of sugar - none of that artificial stuff."

* * *

"What's troublin' you, Caleb?" Loris Holt asked the boy as he prepared for bed that night. "You hardly touched your supper and you didn't even go over to Ronilyn's house to see her pets."

Caleb turned away from the sink in his room. "Miss Holt, what makes a man rape sombody?"

Taken aback by this question, Loris scrutinized the boy's face. "Whyever would you ask that, Caleb?" She recalled Caleb being mighty interested when Ben Healy came to the boardinghouse earlier that evening to question her new boarder, Sam Richardson. "Have you been hearin' things about that man who's been attackin' women?"

The boy nodded. "What kind of a man does that?"

"Well, that's a hard question, Caleb." Loris sat down on his bed. "There's all sorts of answers to that. You could say it's a man who doesn't know right from wrong or you could say it's a man who knows perfectly well the difference between right and wrong and just doesn't care. It's power."

"Power?"

Loris nodded. "To be able to force himself, his will, upon someone. Complete control."

Caleb frowned. "A man who hurts women like that, he's evil, ain't he?"

"A man can commit an evil act, but not necessarily be evil himself because of that. There are all sorts of degrees of evil, all sorts of forms. Caleb, why are you askin' me these things?"

"Do you think a person's born evil like that?" Caleb asked. "I mean, do you think it runs in the family?"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** _American Gothic characters and canon belong to Shaun Cassidy and Sam Raimi; plot and any original characters belong to me. No copyright infringement intended._

"The evil that men do lives after them."  
– Mark Antony from William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"

* * *

"Where you off to, Ben?" asked Floyd the following day.

Ben paused with his hand on the station door and glanced back at the other deputy. "I'm goin' back to the boardinghouse and have another word with that Richardson fella I talked to yesterday. Somethin' about that boy just didn't sit right with me."

* * *

Lucas walked out of Gail Emory's hospital room to find himself staring into the face of Billy Peale.

"What's up, Doc?" he asked with a snicker.

"The crime rate," Billy retorted. "And surprise, surprise, nothing's been done about it."

"Speakin' of doin' nothin', just what are you doin' about Miss Emory there?" Lucas gestured toward Gail's door. "She's still in the same condition she was in when I brought her here."

"Well, you can't just tap someone's shoulder and wake them up out of a coma, Sheriff," Billy informed him. "There are cases of people being comatose for years before regaining consciousness, if they do at all. We can't do anything about her, but you're supposed to be doing something about this rapist. Do you even have any suspects?"

Lucas sighed in exasperation. Being asked that question so often wouldn't bother him nearly as much if he had a good answer. "It's under investigation," he said, tight-lipped. He turned to leave. "And if you want to help out the sheriff's department, why don't you just keep an eye out for any strangers in town, alright?" He grinned. "Maybe you can earn yourself a little junior deputy badge."

"Strangers?" Billy repeated. "What makes you think it's a stranger? Remember, ketamine impairs the memory. Who knows how many women haven't come forward or don't even know they were assaulted? This could've been going on for weeks or even months."

Lucas frowned, then said, "Months, huh? Well, if that's the case, maybe I ought to ask you _your_ whereabouts on the nights in question."

* * *

Ben tried the door of the boardinghouse, found it open, and let himself into the building. "Miss Holt?" he said, glancing around.

"Hmm," Ben muttered when he received no response. "Miss Holt?" he called from the foot of the stairs, his hand resting on his holstered weapon.

As he started to climb the stairs, a door closed somewhere in the house. Ben's head swiveled in the direction of the noise and he bolted toward the kitchen. Once inside, he quickly surveyed the empty room and, through the screen door, spied Sam Richardson approaching Loris Holt in the back yard.

The sun reflected off the object Richardson carried and Ben realized it was a glass containing some kind of liquid.

As Richardson handed the glass to Miss Holt, Ben burst out of the house. "Hold it right there!" he ordered, gun drawn and aimed at the other man.

* * *

"You called?" a voice whispered into Ronilyn's hair.

Ronilyn nearly spit out her cappuccino and spun around on her chair at the counter of the Java Express, coughing. "Yes, I did, Lucas," she managed to say, hating that he was able to sneak up on

her and ignoring his chuckling. "What took you so long? I called the station this morning. Didn't Floyd tell you?"

"He told me," Lucas said, swinging onto the seat next to her.

She looked at him, then said, "Well, I'm honored to see I'm such an important person in your life that you take, what, about six or seven hours to get back to me. Gee, with turnaround time like that, no wonder you're not getting anywhere with that serial rapist."

"Now look," Lucas began, scowling at her. "I'm gettin' real tired of people all of a sudden thinkin' they know how to do my job better than..."

Ronilyn cut him off. "I didn't want to talk to you about that," she said, brushing that topic aside with her hand. "I want to talk to you about Caleb."

"What about him?" Lucas pulled out a drinking straw from the dispenser on the counter.

"Have you talked to him yet?"

"Yep."

"Did he tell you what was bothering him?"

Lucas twisted the straw beneath his fingers. "Sort of."

Ronilyn waited, then finally said, "Well? What is it?"

Lucas set down the mangled straw and met her gaze. "None of your business, that's what it is."

"Of course it's my business," she said, glancing around to make sure Horace wasn't close enough to hear them. "He's family and I want to know what's going on. He didn't show up at my house last night and when I called Loris Holt at the boardinghouse, she said he'd hardly eaten his supper and he was really quiet and..."

"Ronilyn, shut up," Lucas said. "You know, I'm not surprised that you've been talkin' to that Holt woman. A couple of busybody women interferin' with a man's right to raise his own son. Why don't the two of you go have your own children and leave mine alone?"

Ronilyn stared, open-mouthed, at this sudden onslaught. "I don't want to raise your son," she finally said. "But a child should have two parents."

"What makes you think he needs a mother anyway?" Lucas demanded. "That boy's done just fine without one up 'til now. So have you, for that matter," he added, referring to Sarah Huntley's committal to Juniper House when Ronilyn was a toddler.

"Yeah, so I know exactly what he's missing. He needs a woman in his life, but I'm not interested in..."

"And what makes you think you could even be a mother to him?" Lucas interrupted her. "You don't know the first thing about bein' a mother. You didn't exactly have a good role model."

Ronilyn's eyes blazed with anger. "Look," she said, grabbing him by the vest. "I don't know what the hell your problem is today, but I don't appreciate you taking it out on me. And you know what? It's not going to work." She abruptly released her grip and Lucas fell back against his chair. "You always say nasty things about Sarah to try to get a rise out of me and I'm not going to give you the satisfaction."

Lucas merely sat and smirked at her.

"Of course, I'm not going to sit idly by and do nothing either," Ronilyn said and dumped the remainder of her cappuccino on his lap.

Lucas leapt to his feet, swearing. Horace rushed over from the other side of the shop. "Are you alright, Sheriff?" he asked worriedly. "Let me get you some napkins to wipe that up."

Lucas glanced up from dabbing at his wet pants. "Well, I'm glad to see you've developed such remarkable self-control," he told Ronilyn.

"Considering who I'm dealing with, I think I controlled myself quite well." She smiled. "You're just lucky that wasn't hot. Might've burned something you consider important down there."

"Ronilyn..." A beeping sound stopped him. "Damnit." Lucas unclipped a pager from his belt. "What now?" He glanced at the display. "Forget the napkins, Horace," he told the proprietor, who had just brought some over. "I'd be obliged if I could use your phone instead."

"Sure thing, Sheriff."

"Since when do you have a pager?" Ronilyn asked.

"Floyd was doing a crossword puzzle and one of the answers was the word 'pager'," Lucas explained, wiping absently at his pants. "It got him all curious for some reason and he actually found a place where you get a month free on a trial basis. Signed me right up for it without sayin' a word."

"I can tell you enjoy it," she commented as Horace brought the telephone over.

"Damn things," Lucas muttered, as he dialed the phone.

"Set it on vibrator mode," Ronilyn suggested. "Might be more fun that way." Lucas gave her a sideways glance. "Horace, can you give me another cappuccino, please?" she asked. "I seemed to have had an accident with mine."

"What is it, Floyd?" Lucas said into the phone. "Pen run out of ink?" He listened for a moment. "He did what? Alright. I'm on my way." He hung up the phone and glanced at Ronilyn. "We'll finish this some other time," he said as he left the coffee shop.

"Great," Ronilyn said. "I look forward to it." She yawned and gave him a halfhearted wave.

* * *

"Well, Doc?" Ben demanded as Billy Peale walked into his office where the deputy waited with his suspect.

Billy sighed. "I hate to tell you this, Ben, but preliminary results show that it's uncontaminated water. Nothing more, nothing less."

Ben opened and closed his mouth. "What?" he finally said. "Why, that can't be."

"I'm afraid it is."

"Of course it is," Sam Richardson snapped. "What the hell did you think I was doin', makin' bathtub gin or somethin'?"

"Why were you givin' her that water?" Ben demanded.

"Why?" the boardinghouse resident repeated. "How about because she looked thirsty and it was warm out. I thought I was bein' nice!" he exclaimed. "I didn't know that was a crime in Trinity."

"More unusual than criminal," Billy remarked.

"Just exactly who are you, mister?" Ben asked.

"Well, if you'll let me reach into my pocket without shootin'my hand off..." Ben inclined his head and the man removed his wallet and handed the deputy a business card.

Ben peered at the card, then glanced up at the man. "Says here you're a travel writer?"

"That's right," Richardson said, slipping his wallet back into his pocket. "I'm doin' a story on the charm of small southern towns." He met Ben's gaze evenly. "I guess I can take Trinity off the list."

"And add it the the top 10 list of towns to avoid? I don't think so," Lucas said, strolling into Billy's office and up to the writer. "You can hardly blame an entire town for the well-intentioned - " he

glanced over at Ben " - but rash act of a single man." Lucas threw his arm around Richardson's shoulders and guided him out the door. "Let me see if I can redeem our little town in your eyes..." he said, his voice trailing off as they left.

Ben sunk down into a chair with a deep sigh. "You got any cyanide around here, Doc?"

* * *

The Crown Victoria cruised down the streets of Trinity. It had taken Lucas awhile to persuade that travel writer not to write anything unpleasant about his town and so he'd been in just the right frame of mind to deal with Ben upon his return to the station.

"Jumpin' the gun," he'd lectured his deputy then. "This time, not only did you jump the gun, but you actually went ahead and _pulled_ a gun on someone."

Lucas drove slowly past Ronilyn's house and pulled over to the curb. "Hey," he shouted through the open window on the passenger's side. "What are you doin', just sittin' out there?"

Caleb hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly left the front porch of the house and walked over to the car. "I'm waitin' for Ronilyn," he said. "I'm suppose to come over and help her with the pets after supper and she ain't here yet. Funny thing is - " he glanced over his shoulder at the house and back again " - it's real quiet. It don't sound like the animals are even there."

"Hmm. Well, I wouldn't worry about it, son. She's probably just runnin' late. The mayor might've had something last minute for her to do."

"Well, it's kind of funny that she didn't call Miss Holt and tell me not to come if she wasn't gonna be here," Caleb said. "I hope she's alright. You know, with that rapist runnin' around and all."

Lucas frowned. The boy's thoughts were echoing his own, which would have been encouraging under less troubling circumstances. "Ronilyn's the toughest woman I know," he assured Caleb. "She can take care of herself better than most people." He peered up at the darkening sky. "It's gettin' late. Why don't you get on home? I'm sure she's fine."

"No, sir." Caleb backed away from the car. "I think I'll stick around here awhile longer if it's all the same to you."

Lucas shrugged. "Alright, but don't stay out too long, you hear?"

He drove away, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "The boy's right," Lucas said aloud. "There's no way she would've forgotten that he was comin' over. No way in hell." He stepped on the accelerator.

* * *

[A/N: Regarding the pager, remember Trinity is a small town and this takes place in 1996, so not that many people had pagers or cell phones.]


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** _American Gothic characters and canon belong to Shaun Cassidy and Sam Raimi; plot and any original characters belong to me. No copyright infringement intended._

"The evil that men do lives after them."  
– Mark Antony from William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar"

* * *

"Can I help you with something, Sheriff? Not that I know how to make any of these newfangled coffee drinks. Regular cup of coffee has always been good enough for me."

Lucas stood in the doorway of the Java Express. "Howdy there, Mrs. Watts. You happen to see my cousin Ronilyn around here lately?"

The woman shook her head, not a single strand of her tightly arranged gray hair daring to move. "Don't reckon I know what she looks like," Mrs. Watts said. "But nobody's come in here for about an hour now - at least that's when Horace ran off on his little errand. Can you imagine? Tellin' me to watch the store. I'll watch it alright, watch it burn to the ground. Leastways he'd get insurance money for it, assumin' he even bothered to get insurance. Fool."

"I gather you don't think this here coffee shop was a good idea," Lucas said, only half-listening to the old woman as he surveyed the empty shop.

"No, I don't," Mrs. Watts declared, hands on her hips. "Coffee houses, cappuccino. It's all just a fad. It's just passin' through and when it's over Horace is gonna be left with nothing - as usual. His father's probably turnin' over in his grave right now."

"Oh, yeah. My condolences for your loss." Lucas walked over to the far window of the shop and frowned at Ronilyn's car parked around the corner.

"Thank you, Sheriff," she said. "Truth is, my husband always wanted Horace to follow in his footsteps, carry on his business. But if Horace can't even take care of himself, how's he suppose to take care of animals?"

Lucas whirled around. "What? What animals?" he demanded.

"Why, sick ones, of course." Mrs. Watts frowned at him. "When my husband passed on, so did his veterinary practice in Ascension. Horace helped clear things out, but he wouldn't..."

Lucas swore as he dashed out of the coffee shop and flung himself into his car. "Floyd!" he shouted, snatching up the radio.

The radio crackled. "Yes, sir. Right here."

He put the car in gear. "I need an APB on Ronilyn Huntley and Horace Watts."

"Ronilyn?"

"That's right." Tires squealed as the car shot out of its parking space and into traffic.

* * *

He slammed down the window, shutting out the irritating hum of the crickets and the chirping of the birds. A crow suddenly perched on the flower box outside the windowsill and peered into the cabin, eyeing the man with intensity. He stared at the crow for a moment, then quickly pulled the curtains across.

He crawled onto the bed when the sound of scratching broke the silence. He glanced over his shoulder toward the cabin door as the scratching became more frenzied. He swore aloud and climbed off the bed.

"Damn distractions. Must be that miserable black cat I saw when I got here," he muttered as he stalked over to the front door. Well, he'd take care of that once and for all, he thought, snatching up a shovel leaning against the wall. He sure as hell wasn't going to waste that precious ketamine on a lousy cat. Shovel raised in one hand, he jerked the cabin door open.

"Evenin', Horace," said Lucas Buck. "How's it hangin'?" His fist instantly connected with Horace's jaw and the man sailed across the room as a lean-looking striped cat ran inside the cabin.

Lucas picked up the shovel, examined it, and, shaking his head, grinned. "Yep. They're mighty useful alright." He glanced over at Horace, who was struggling to his feet. "Now that's mighty hospitable of you, Horace, but there ain't no need for you to get up." He brought the shovel down on Horace's back and the man toppled to the floor. "Lucky thing for you you came to the door with your pants on," Lucas told the unconscious man as he tossed the shovel aside.

He strode into the other room and discovered Ronilyn sprawled on the bed, her hair tousled and partially covering her face. Her blouse was unfastened and her clothing wrinkled, but Lucas saw nothing to indicate that Horace had gotten very far with his plans.

"Like I said, you're a very lucky man, Horace," Lucas murmurred as he gently brushed Ronilyn's hair out of her eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen her look so helpless. When she was a little girl, maybe? No, Lucas thought, as he buttoned up her blouse, there was that day when she came home to Trinity to care for her dying father. Seeing the utter despair in her eyes had set off such a surge of unexpected emotions in Lucas that the moment was forever burned into his memory.

A price would be paid for this, he vowed, scooping Ronilyn up in his arms. She stirred and mumbled, her eyelids fluttering. "Shh," Lucas whispered. "C'mon, darlin', we're gettin' out of here," he said, stepping over the threshold of the bedroom.

"I don't think so, Buck."

Lucas shook his head at Horace, who stood in his way, brandishing the shovel. "You just don't know when to quit, do you?"

Keeping a firm grip on the shovel, Horace wiped the blood from his lip with his other hand. "I'm not gonna let you ruin me," he declared as a couple of stray cats climbed onto the porch outside.

Lucas sneered at this. "You're already ruined," he said. "Face it. You lost. But then you should be used to that by now, right?" He shifted Ronilyn slightly and watched as a large black cat appeared just outside the doorway. "You're a loser, Horace. Always have been. You know that, I know that, hell, even your mama knows that."

"I ain't a loser!"

Lucas continued as if the man hadn't spoken. "'Bout time you learn to lose gracefully, don't you think? Now step aside, boy," he said as the black cat slunk across the floor. "Nobody likes a sore loser."

"Somebody's gonna be sore, Buck, but it ain't gonna be me." Horace raised the shovel and approached Lucas. "I ain't afraid of you."

"Well, that was your second mistake."

"Oh, yeah? And what was the first?"

The black cat hissed, its pointed teeth bared.

"Takin' her," Lucas answered, indicating Ronilyn with his head.

As Horace glanced over his shoulder at the hissing sound, Midnight leapt into the air with a piercing cry and struck Horace's face, sharp claws extended. Horace clutched at his face and tumbled backward, screaming as the cat slashed at him. With a loud chorus of meows, the other cats converged on the man.

"Bet you could use that ketamine now, huh?" Lucas said, sidestepping the squirming pile of fur and flesh on the floor as he walked out of the cabin.

He maneuvered Ronilyn into the back seat of his car as Ben drove up. The deputy got out of his car, his hand on his gun.

"What the hell is goin' on, Lucas?" he demanded, then stopped short at the sight of an unconscious Ronilyn. "What happened? Is she alright?"

"She'll be fine, Ben." Lucas slammed the back door shut. "I'm takin' her to the hospital."

Ben nodded, then turned his attention to the cabin and the cries of human and feline. "What the hell is goin' on in there?" he asked, looking back at the sheriff. "Horace in there?"

Lucas' mouth turned upward into an unpleasant smile. "Ketamine's probably in there somewhere, Ben. Turn it upside down and see what you can find." He got into the car. "Then we'll search Horace's house and business. More than likely, he's got it stashed there too." Lucas stuck his head out the car window. "Oh, and be careful when you go inside, Ben. There's a real cat fight goin' on in there. Might want to think about callin' an ambulance - eventually," he added before driving away.

Ben looked with distaste at the cabin.

* * *

"She gonna be alright?"

"Doc said she'll be just fine," Lucas told his son. "She ain't gonna regain consciousness for a few more hours 'cause of that drug and she won't remember much of anything when she does wake up, but she'll be alright."

Caleb looked up at his father. "He didn't hurt her then?"

Lucas met the boy's gaze. "No. You think that man would be lyin' comfortably in a hospital bed down the hall if he had?"

"I expect not," Caleb said, glancing down at Ronilyn. "I ain't gonna be like you," he told Lucas. "I ain't never gonna hurt women like you do."

Lucas blinked. "Is that right?"

"Yeah, that's right." Frowning, Caleb folded his arms across his chest.

"Well, why don't you just go on up to the third floor and tell that to your cousin Gail? Maybe she'll actually come out of her coma and hear you."

Caleb stared at Lucas for a full minute before he turned and bolted from the room.

Lucas sighed and shook his head, then leaned over the hospital bed. "I could've let him rape you," he told Ronilyn, taking her hand and slowly stroking his thumb over her fingers. "But I made that damn promise to your father to protect you and a man's word to his family's got to mean something." Lucas bent down and lightly kissed her forehead. "Besides, if anybody's gonna hurt you, it'll be on my terms." With that, he left.

* * *

Selena shut the radio off after hearing the arrest report. "Horace Watts," she murmured, brushing her hair slowly. "Who'd have thought he'd have the balls, literally and figuratively, to do something like that?"

She laid the brush back on the bureau and turned down her bed. "Well, I don't recall seein' him around that night, so it couldn't have been him. Must've just had too much to drink" Satisfied with this conclusion, she leaned over and switched off the light.

* * *

Caleb thrashed about in his bed, images of his mother's assault now replaced with the sight of Gail tumbling down the staircase at Lucas' house. He could hear her scream as she fell, then silence as she struck the bottom of the staircase. Lucas' face staring up at him, accusing, condemning.

He woke up, his pajamas clinging to his sweat-soakedbody. Caleb rocked back and forth, clutching the blankets tightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to," he sobbed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry...."

* * *

Ronilyn's eyes opened.

"That Horace Watts gives me the creeps," said a female voice outside Ronilyn's room. "How long's he gonna be here?"

A second female voice replied, "I'm not sure. Those cats really scratched him up. Went right for the face, I heard. Might've gouged his eyes right out."

"No. Really?"

"Well, I got a peek in his room when I was cleanin' the floors over there and he's got his face all bandaged up. Can't really tell, but I heard one of the nurses say that he's blind as a bat."

The voices faded as the two women moved on. "Serves him right, I say. He's..."

Ronilyn's eyes narrowed.

* * *

Later that night, an agonizing scream reverberated down the hall of Fulton Memorial Hospital.

* * *

Light from the newly risen sun drifted through the window of Ronilyn's hospital room the following morning to find her wadding up her hospital gown and stuffing it underneath her pillow.

A laugh came from the doorway. "I never thought I'd see you up at dawn on two separate days," Lucas said.

She sat down on the bed and slipped her shoes on. "Well, I think I've probably slept long enough - whether I wanted to or not. There's no point in my staying around here any longer."

"Billy Boy know you're leavin'?"

"Dr. Peale isn't here twenty-four hours a day." Ronilyn gestured toward the corridor. "I told the nurses to let the doctor on call know that I'm leaving. If he doesn't like it, too bad. They can't keep me here."

"You gonna leave AMA?"

"I don't think it'd be against medical advice for me to leave, Lucas. I came in here unconscious and now I'm leaving conscious. Who's going to stop me? You?"

Lucas held up his hands. "No. No. Not me, darlin'. I can tell when you've got your mind set to do something."

"Smart move," she said. "Actually, it's good that you're here."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. Since I was brought here with only the clothes on my back, I don't have my purse, I don't have my..."

He held up her shoulder bag. "You do now."

"Good." Ronilyn snatched the purse from him and fumbled inside. She pulled out a key chain, then looked at him. "I don't suppose you brought my car too?"

"Nope, but I'll be happy to give you a lift."

"Well, let's go then." She headed for the door, then turned back. "You the one who found me?"

"Did you ever doubt it?"

She sighed. "I suppose I have to thank you."

Lucas considered this for a moment, then said, "Well, that's probably the appropriate thing to do in this sort of situation."

He waited.

"Thanks."

Lucas grinned. "I know how hard that was for you."

She walked into the corridor. "About as hard as it was for you to rescue me, I'll bet."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. What a thing to say." She stopped suddenly and Lucas bumped against her, barely avoiding stepping on her heels. "You been lyin' in bed so long you forgot how to walk? One foot in front of the other, remember?"

"What's going on over there?" she asked, pointing toward a room down the hall with medical personnel rushing in and out and deputies standing guard.

"Oh, that's where ol' Horace is stayin' right now." He looked down at her. "You tellin' me you didn't know that?"

"He's still alive?" Ronilyn met his gaze, then she shook her head. "You disappoint me, Lucas."

"Well, I wouldn't worry too much about it," Lucas said. "Those cats of yours pretty much scratched his eyes out. He's blind for the moment and he's gonna be mighty dependent on that wonderful mother of his." He chuckled. "I think he'd prefer death over that."

They approached the nurses' station and waited for Ronilyn's discharge papers. "Why's he still here?" she asked. "Shouldn't he be in jail?"

Lucas leaned against the counter next to her. "As soon as the doc says he's ready to travel, he'll be moved. 'Sides, I think he'd have a little trouble walkin' right now, don't you?"

She frowned at Lucas. "What are you talkin' about? You said he was blind. Does he walk on his head or something?"

Lucas studied her. "You really don't know?"

"Know what?" she demanded as Nurse Kelly handed her a clipboard. "I don't even remember what happened since I was at the Java Express yesterday. If you're going to try and make me guess, forget it!"

"Well," he began, still watching her closely. "It appears someone visited ol' Horace last night and did some surgery on little Horace."

"What? What's that supposed to mean?"

Lucas made a scissors gesture with his fingers. "Cut it right off."

Ronilyn's mouth dropped open. "He was castrated?" she gasped, her voice displaying just the right mixture of horror and surprise.

"I guess that'd be the medically correct term for it, yeah."

She laughed and clapped him on the back. "Well, I take back what I said about you, Lucas." She began scribbling her signature on the various forms.

"Me?" Lucas stared at her.

"I know I said I was disappointed in you, but this is just..."

"Whoa. Hold on there." He held up a hand. "I had nothing to do with that."

"You didn't?" she asked innocently.

"No," Lucas said, scowling. "I thought you did. Fella was right down the hall from you, after all."

"Well, how could I do that, Lucas?" she asked innocently. "I was asleep, remember? And even if I woke up, I'd have needed help finding a knife and getting into the room. And where would I get help from, huh?" Ronilyn returned the clipboard to the nurse. "Thank you, Nurse Kelly. For everything," she added.

Their eyes met in understanding. "No. Thank you, miss," the nurse said, straightening her daughter Sally Mae's photo below the counter.

THE END


End file.
